By Marc D'Amelio
There is one creator I turned to when my family wanted to take the leap into a full-time creative career
I come from the business world. My decision-making process is carefully calculated and methodic. I do not make a move unless I have all of the facts laid out before me.
So when my family wanted to move across the country to pursue a creative career together, I wanted a real affirmation that we could make it.
When I was in New York City I ran my own clothing company, and for a long time I had my own apparel showroom. From my experience learning how to stand out in that competitive landscape, I knew early on that social media was going to be a way to transform all types of businesses because it leveled the playing field.
Social media made brands, no matter their size, became totally accessible to a worldwide audience. You can look now and see even independent practices, from doctors to landscapers to life coaches, that are doing great jobs promoting themselves on social media.
When my family started on social media, there was one creator who stuck out to me. This creator made me feel confident that we could really turn our brand into a full-time business.
Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) founded VaynerMedia and VaynerSports, and was active on social media right from the beginning. That is how he grew his dad’s wine business, and with his success online he started his media agencies that took off too.
Shortly after both Charli and Dixie started to gain some notoriety, we had the privilege of meeting with Gary. I do think his belief in putting out content and not trying to get it perfect, just focusing on getting things out there helped us starting out.
I still struggle with that. I still struggle with the fact that I am not always comfortable just putting things out there. For Charli and I, we are perfectionists. We have got to have things perfect sometimes. But I learn so much from the way Gary just puts it out there, learns from it, and then pivots when necessary.
What he has accomplished validated the fact that we, as a family, can do this. I remember Gary’s impression of our family on our first meeting. Even though I wasn't in entertainment per se, when Gary saw our family dynamic and our interview, he immediately asked if we would ever consider moving to California. I said, “Yes, if I thought it was a great opportunity.”
And he said, “You guys are going to be fine.”
Gary knew something I did not yet understand back then. Even though we were in the social world for such a short period of time, Gary knew other families would have some issues with a big move like this. But I think he saw something in us.
He knew we would be okay coming out to California and committing to this dream, but I had to have enough faith to take the risk. Because our family unit was so strong, he encouraged us to take the leap.
And so far…he’s been right.
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